The Success Story of Educational ICTs - Or Not?: An Interview Study About Teachers’ Perceptions of Digital Tools in Education
2023 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
Digitalization is taking place everywhere in Swedish society, including in the education sector. The ways of teaching are changing due to digitalization, for example by the introduction of new digital resources. Educational ICTs change the way of teaching by introducing digital tools such as computers, tablets, interactive whiteboards, the internet and web pages into the classroom. However, there are divided opinions on whether digital tools are beneficial for education. This thesis investigates what perceptions, experiences and beliefs Swedish teachers have about digital tools in teaching. To find out, a qualitative interview study has been conducted where seven teachers have been interviewed. The reason why the teacher perspective is interesting is because it is the teachers in their professional role who implement policy decisions, i.e. they are the ones who ultimately decide exactly how much digital tools should be used in their classrooms. The theories used to explain individuals' use of ICTs are Diffusions of Innovations (DOI) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which are applied to the teachers' usage. What the study concluded is that there is a relatively large difference in which digital tools the teachers use, as well as how much they use them. Although the usage of the tools that the teacher uses to simplify their own work does not differ that much. To exemplify, all the teachers use a work computer as well as some type of supplement to the whiteboard, such as an interactive whiteboard, projector or a TV. However, how much the teachers decide that the students are allowed to use digital tools differs. This seems to depend on the school's resources, which grade the students are in and whether the teachers find the digital tools helpful. Furthermore, the study shows that teachers discuss digital tools collegially, partly because it is so integrated into teaching that it is naturally brought up. All of the teachers surveyed estimate that they have sufficient digital literacy to cope with their job, but would like to learn more.
These conclusions can only be made within the scope of this study as they are based on a limited number of interviews. However, the conclusions can be part of the research on the Swedish school and how ICT in education can be used in the best way to benefit everyone involved in the school, for example teachers and students.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023.
Keywords [en]
Education, Digitalization, Sweden, ICT, Digital Tools, Teacher, School
National Category
Media and Communications
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-505741OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-505741DiVA, id: diva2:1772096
2023-06-212023-06-212025-02-07Bibliographically approved